Texans “terrible” in first game of O’Brien era

Summary of 21 articles · Updated Aug 14, 2014

“You have to see it for what it is,” O’Brien said. “It is what it is. Texans head coach Bill O’Brien and Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan have a little history, the coach said. If Texans coach Bill O’Brien left the door open on his quarterback rotation yeste… (more)rday, he closed it today. After meeting with media, new Texans head coach Bill O’Brien said he was heading up to his office to get in touch with Falcons coach Mike Smith about organizing the team’s combined practices Wednesday and Thursday. “There might be something that’s like a short-yardage or goal-line situation that maybe he and I would decide, we’ll go live here because it’s on the 1-yard line or something,” O’Brien said at NRG Stadium. Asked if he’d consider letting the Texans do “Hard Knocks” in the future, he said he’d consider “anything that helps us get better.” “So any time you have a chance to review things and regroup a little bit on a day off like it is today, as a head coach, you’re always thinking about things that can make the team better, whether that’s a change in the depth chart, a change in a scheme, a change of a position of a player, whatever it may be.

Texans’ kicking battle remains wide open, O’Brien says

Randy Bullock vs. Chris Boswell was one of the most interesting position battles when training camp began for the Texans. The competition to be named the team’s Week 1 placekicker remains wide open after two practices with the Atlanta Falcons, coach Bil…

O’Brien looking at more than completed passes for Texans’ QBs

Bill O’Brien, back left, was focused on quarterback play on Thursday. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle) Ryan Fitzpatrick threw four consecutive incomplete passes during a situational drill Thursday against the Atlanta Falcons, with the initial three fire…

Joint practice with Atlanta Falcons was all Bill O’Brien

Although the logistics of merging practices can be difficult, Texans head coach Bill O’Brien had positive memories of working against Atlanta counterpart Mike Smith and the Falcons when he was Bill Belichick assistant at New England. When he found out t…

Bill O’Brien recalls his college recruitment of Matt Ryan

Falcons QB Matt Ryan (2) jogs off the practice field on Wednesday. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle) Texans head coach Bill O’Brien and Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan have a little history, the coach said. Had things worked out as planned, he would have b…

Texans, Falcons make nice in first joint practice

Matt Ryan and the Falcons went no-huddle some against the Texans on Wednesday. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle) The day began on a bad note for the Texans with Atlanta’s first-team offense scoring a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage, but head c…

Ryan Fitzpatrick locked in as Texans’ starting QB, O’Brien says

Ryan Fitzpatrick entered the Texans’ first preseason game as the team’s starting quarterback and continues to hold the title after the a blowout loss, despite throwing two interceptions and clearly struggling last Saturday during a 32-0 defeat to the Ar…

Houston Texans' projected roster

Examining the Houston Texans' roster: QUARTERBACKS (3) Ryan Fitzpatrick Tom Savage Case Keenum Keenum is the second-stringer, but the Texans had so few plays offensively in their first preseason game that it's hard to really get a feel for where Savage …

Bill O’Brien working on finalizing practice plans with Atlanta Falcons

After meeting with media, new Texans head coach Bill O’Brien said he was heading up to his office to get in touch with Falcons coach Mike Smith about organizing the team’s combined practices Wednesday and Thursday. “We’ve had four or five phone conversa…

Since off-season work began, new head coach Bill O’Brien has spoken about how much he’s enjoying being around the Texans, calling them smart and hard-working. The Arizona game didn’t change his opinion, he insisted. “I still feel good about this group o…

O’Brien likes what he saw from first-team offensive line

The five veteran offensive linemen playing with the first unit drew praise from first-year head coach Bill O’Brien. Of the group, only right tackle Derek Newton was called for a penalty (holding) and the Texans ran the ball reasonably well behind them. …

O’Brien doesn’t rule out a change in quarterback rotation

When new Texans coach Bill O’Brien last spoke to the media, on the heels of a 32-0 loss at Arizona, he called his team’s performance “terrible.” He addressed the situation more specifically on Sunday. Sort of. Asked whether he’s rethinking the rotation …

O’Brien searches for positives a day after a pummelling by the Cardinals

As badly as things went for the Texans Saturday night in Arizona, coach Bill O’Brien still found reasons to stay positive when he addressed the media Sunday afternoon. O’Brien conceded there were “a lot of negatives out there as far penalties, turnovers…

Morning after: Texans, O’Brien humbled by blowout to Cardinals

GLENDALE, Ariz. — First-year coach Bill O’Brien has pushed, challenged and barked loudly since offseason workouts began, trying to toughen up the rebuilding Texans in time for the start of the 2014 regular season. For the first time Saturday night, O’Br…

Camp Confidential: Atlanta Falcons

FLOWERY BRANCH, GA. -- There is no doubt the Atlanta Falcons have gotten tougher this season just based on the bigger bodies along the offensive and defensive lines and the nastier attitudes players have brought to training camp. But will that translate…